Hundreds of supporters on the water in kayaks and on land holding signs welcomed Polish adventurer Aleksander “Olek” Doba to New Smyrna Beach Saturday.

By RICHARD CONNjohn.gallas@news-jrnl.com

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- To the cheers of hundreds of supporters on the water in kayaks and on land holding signs, Polish adventurer Aleksander “Olek” Doba paddled into New Smyrna Beach Marina on Saturday after a more than 6,000-mile journey across the vast Atlantic Ocean alone in a kayak. Doba left Lisbon, Portugal, on Oct. 5 and battled storms, mechanical problems and open-water winds that blew him off course in the 21-foot vessel powered only by his sinewy arms and broad shoulders. Sporting a beard that looks like Tom Hanks’ in the movie “Castaway,” he pushed together his index finger and thumb to show how long he slept Friday night. “I sleep zero minutes,” the 67-year old explorer said, flashing a smile.But after his arrival in New Smyrna Beach, the culmination of a seemingly incomprehensible continent-to-continent journey, Doba didn’t take a nap or ask for a much-needed, hearty meal.Taking a precious few swigs from a jug of Ocean Spray Cran-Lemonade, he stepped off his kayak and happily kissed the ground by the city’s marina on Riverside Drive where he docked his kayak. And then for more than an hour he posed for pictures, shook hands and gave out warm embraces.He listened patiently and grinned as countless people lined up to tell him how tough they thought he was, how much they loved him, how much he inspired them, how they couldn’t imagine the sometimes treacherous conditions he endured.“I told him I think he’s the toughest man on earth,” said Steve Griffith, a Delaware resident who’s visiting the area and wanted to be among the crowd who showed up to greet the intrepid mariner. “And I told him that if there’s anybody that claims to be tougher, I want to see them paddle from New Smyrna Beach to Portugal. And then I’ll believe them.”“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. My husband wanted to play golf. I said, ‘I’m coming here,’ ” said Marianne McCormick, who lives in Port Orange. McCormick took pictures with her iPad and said she had been following Doba’s travels since November.Doba was greeted like a conquering hero. And why not? He had conquered the elements and isolation after 195 days at sea. “Aleksander the Great!,” New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer said as he shook Doba’s hand. Barringer read a proclamation in Doba’s honor and presented him with a bottle of champagne on behalf of the city. The entire City Commission and Volusia County Councilwoman Deb Denys were part of the welcoming party.Doba was ushered into the marina by a flotilla of about 15 local kayakers. One of those kayakers, Mary “Snookie” DeMarce, of Edgewater, brought a sign that read “Olek, you’re my hero.”“Yes, he’s an inspiration because I’m 65,” she said.Candy Mitchell of New Smyrna Beach welcomed Doba by blowing into a conch shell.“I think it’s fabulous, really a great accomplishment,” she said of Doba’s expedition. Doba’s record-setting solo journey was interrupted when the rudder fell off his kayak Feb. 13 in the Bermuda Triangle and he had to stop in Bermuda to make repairs. Then, on March 23, Doba and his kayak boarded the ship The Spirit of Bermuda that took Doba back to where he was before a series of powerful storms pushed him hundreds of miles off his original course. He had been on the water ever since.Doba said no matter the formidable obstacles, nothing would stop him from reaching New Smyrna, which he said was his “dream.”“The feeling when I (arrived) here in New Smyrna Beach was fantastic, so many people, so friendly,” he said.While he was in Bermuda he didn’t restock his kayak with more food, surviving with the same ready-to-eat meals he had on board when he left Portugal. When he was able to grab the occasional few hours of sleep, it was in a small compartment in the front of the vessel. “Very little place, very little,” he said. “But for me it’s enough.”Amazingly, Doba said the most challenging part of his six-month-long journey came just days ago when he and his kayak where whipped around in the Gulf Stream.“Choppy water, big waves and that was the most challenging aspect,” said Doba’s friend, Piotr Chmielinski, who translated for Doba on Saturday and also took many of the pictures that people lined up for. New Smyrna was chosen as the landing spot for Doba because Chmielinski and his friend Hugh Granger own a condominium on North Atlantic Avenue and planned to take care of Doba there. Granger said Doba had probably paddled about 6,700 miles throughout the journey because of the sometimes circuitous routes he had to take and the countless miles he had to make up after being pushed back by storms.Doba, gripping his bottle of cran-lemonade and still smiling, looked ready to paddle thousands more.“When you do something that satisfies, it’s very fine,” he said.

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